"He came to our stadium and beat us and took his team to the Super Bowl in 2012," Brady, 40, said. "He accomplished a lot in the pros as a player and he's certainly qualified and I hope he gets a shot."

The popular Patriots player said he never knew Kaepernick "very well."

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff of California said that "people have suffered enough" because of President Trump and that a real leader would re-open the part of the government that has been shuttered since December.